China: Cultural Reformation and Economic Transformation

Question: Was Mao Zedong responsible for the economic achievements of Chinese society after 1949 or did he hinder that development? Hypothesis: Mao Zedong, through his erratic behavior and need to be hero-worshipped, misused his power to mobilize Chinese society, which in turn led to incalculable suffering and turmoil, and that China’s economy developed in spite of, not because of, Mao’s leadership.

China, Relief Map

China, Composite Satellite Image

China, Main Geographical Areas

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20th Century A. Establishment of People’s Republic of China (1949–1950) 1. Mao Zedong (1893–1976), Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman of the Central Government Council 1949– Zhou Enlai (1898–1976), Premier and Foreign Minister 1949– 1976

Mao Zedong declares the People’s Republic of China, October 1, 1949

Zhou Enlai (middle) with his wife Deng Yingchao and Edgar Snow (1938)

2. Zhou Enlai (1898–1976), Premier and Foreign Minister 1949–1976

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20th Century (continued) B. Pro-Soviet period (1950–1956) 1. First Five-Year Plan, 1953– Agriculture a. 1953: beginning of socialization of agriculture (cooperative farms) b. 1955: Mao ordered collectivization 3. Mobilization of Chinese society a. Korean War b. Destruction of four pests: sparrows, mice, mosquitos, and flies c. Shistosomiasis (Snail fever)

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20 th Century (continued) B. Pro-Soviet period (1950–1956) (continued) 4. Land Reform a. “struggle meetings” b. landlord deaths estimated to be in hundreds of thousands 5. Denunciation of “capitalist roaders”

“Propaganda Group of the Revolutionary Committee of the Shanghai No. 3 Ink Factory, 1969”

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20 th Century (continued) C. “Let a hundred flowers bloom” (1956–1957) 1. Encouragement of criticism of the Party 2. Ended when Mao published an article calling critics “enemies” and “rightists” a. “downward transfer” of intellectuals and cadres to villages b. end their “separation from the masses” 3. Exhibited tensions in leadership a. between value of “mental” versus “manual” labor b. between value of “expertise” versus “redness”

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20 th Century (continued) D. Great Leap Forward (1958–1961) 1. Decentralization of industrialization a. “battle for steel” 2. Merging of collective farms into 24,000 communes a. commune = 20,000 people or more b. members organized into production brigades and teams c. communes subdivided later in 74,000 smaller units d. ending of private plots and other personal possessions

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20 th Century (continued) D. Great Leap Forward (1958–1961) (continued) 3. Falsifying of production reports 4. Famine 1959–1961 = over 30 million deaths 5. Khrushchev withdrew all 30,000 Soviet engineers and technicians (1960) 6. “Better red than expert”

“Take steel as the key link; leap forward in all fields”

“Let the new socialist performing arts occupy every stage”

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20 th Century (continued) E. Relaxed Controls and Shifting Emphasis (1961–1966) 1. Liu Shaoqi (1898–1969), Chairman of the Central Government Council 1959–68 2. Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997), Party general secretary (1956–1967); Paramount Leader (1978–1992) 3. Private plots restored (1962)

Liu Shaoqi (1898–1969), Chairman of the Central Government Council 1959–1968

“The renegade, traitor, and scab Liu must be forever expelled from the Party”

Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997), Party General Secretary, 1956–1967; Paramount Leader, 1978– 1992

“We’ll destroy the Liu-Deng reactionary line”

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20 th Century (continued) F. Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) 1. Mao’s attack on the Party 2. Development of cult of personality a. Little Red Book

Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book

“Chairman Mao is the red sun of our hearts”

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20 th Century (continued) 3. Red Guards (est. 13 million) a. September 1966 – school closed for the year b. October 1966 – massive demonstration in Tiananmen Square c. rival group: Rebels (“Red Guards of Mao Zedong Thought”) 4. Mao urged destruction of “four olds”: ideas, culture, customs, habits 5. Jiang Qing (1914–1991) controlled arts, media, and education

“Destroy the old world, create the new world”

Jiang Qing (1914–1991)

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20 th Century (continued) 6. GNP = 40% higher in 1970 than in Role of Lin Biao (1908–1971), Defense Minister 1959–1971 (coup plot?) 8. The Turn to Normalizing Relations with the U.S., Role of Zhou Enlai (dies January 8, 1976) 10. Mao dies, September 9, 1976

Tiangshan Earthquake July 28, nd or 3 rd deadliest earthquake in history. Death toll: Official: 245,000 Unofficial: 655,000

Lin Biao as Heir Apparent to Mao

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20 th Century (continued) G. China after Mao (1976–2000) 1. Deng Xiaoping becomes most powerful political figure a. ousts “Gang of Four” — Jiang Qing arrested October 1976 b. proteges become premiers and Party chairmen: Hua Guofeng (1921–2008), Premier and Party Chairman 1976–1980 Zhao Ziyang (1919–2005 ), Premier 1980–1987 Li Peng (1928– ), Premier 1988–1998

“Gang of Four”

Hua Guofeng (1921–2008), Premier and Party Chairman 1976–1981

Hu Yaobang (1915–1989), Party Chairman 1981– 1982, Party General Secretary 1982– 1987

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20 th Century (continued) G. China after Mao (1976–2000) (continued) 2. Central control of economy relaxed a. communes dismantled b. shift toward market economy in countryside 3. Rehabilitation of mental labor

I. Chronological Periods of Chinese History in the Second Half of the 20 th Century (continued) G. China after Mao (1976–2000) (continued) 4. Party continues to suppress dissent a. Tiananmen Square, May 1989 –death of Hu Yaobang April 15, 1989 –state funeral b. restraint of “leftist extremists”

Tiananmen Square, May 1989

“The Unknown Rebel” or “Tank man”

China: Cultural Reformation and Economic Transformation II. Evaluating the Pluses and Minuses of Mao Zedong’s Leadership